All That She Is
by Card of Spade
Summary: A curious princess, a bumbling doctor, an accidental savior, or a cowardly traitor...Ayla has been called many things in her life. What will you come to know her as? [A series about an original character and her canon-breaking journey, all through the perspective of others]
1. The Two Princesses

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Magi series. The Magi series is the property of Shinobu Ohtaka (writer) and Shogakukan (publisher), and are not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

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 **The Two Princesses**

It's late at night when she wakes up, hushed commotion happening right outside her bedroom door. Curious, she slides off her bed and tiptoes out into the hallway, making sure to keep out of sight of the servants rushing about the dark corridors. From behind the foliage, her ears can pick up the workers' excited whispers as they carried sheets and bowls of water to and fro, which greatly confused the child. Whenever there was cleaning up to do, especially because of her, the servants were almost always annoyed.

So, spurred on by her childlike inquisitiveness, Serendine creeps through the castle and towards what she is realizes is her parent's room, where the heart of the commotion is. In her wonderment, the young princess slowly inches towards the jeweled doors and pokes her head through them to peer inside. There, in the dancing candlelight, she can make out a group of women surrounding her parent's bed and her father sitting on the edge.

"Princess!" one of the maids exclaim, causing everyone in the room to turn to her. Serendine instinctually curls into herself, the fear of being scolded growing inside of her. However, her father merely gives her a kind smile and makes his way over. He kneels down as low as he can go and speaks softly.

"I'm sorry if we woke you up, Seren." Said girl silently shakes her head, as if to say that everything is fine. "I was going to have one of the maids bring you here later in the day, but I suppose now is a good time as any. Come on, there's someone your mother and I want you to meet." The king easily scoops her up in his arms and walks back to the bed.

Her mother smiles, tired yet proud, and shifts the bundle of white blankets cradled in her arms to reveal a tiny, chubby face. Serendine straightens herself in her father's arms and leans in to get a closer look at it. There's a small tuft of soft pink hair that was noticeable several shades lighter than either her own and her mother's.

"Is this what was inside mommy's tummy?" the princess asks, staring at the pudgy face in pure wonderment. She reaches out and pokes a plump cheek of the baby's, giggling a bit at the squishy touch. However, when it lets out a low whine, Serendine immediately pulls her hand back, afraid that she did something wrong.

"She's not a 'what', but a 'who'," the king chuckles. "This is your little sister, Ayla*." And at that moment, the baby opens her eyes and Serendine finds herself staring back into deep elder's breath catches in her throat and her whole body freezes up. Even though she was just a baby, Serendine can't help but feel like there's something in her gaze; something that made her eyes glisten like crystals. A couple of tense seconds pass before Ayla's mouth forms a little 'o' and she starts to make gurgling noises towards Serendine.

"Aw, it looks like Ayla already loves her big sister," her mother coos. She reaches up to loosen the blankets a bit and, once given enough wiggle room, the little human begins to reach towards the shell-shocked princess.

"Really" Serendine whispers in astonishment. The king leans down to allow the child to grasp the pudgy, reaching hand. Once their hands were connected, Ayla relaxes into the blanket and her eyes flutter close.

"Do you know what this means, Serendine?" The princess looks up at her father, pink eyes wide in innocent amazement. "As Ayla's big sister, it's your job to watch out for her, to protect her. There will be times when you will annoy each other, maybe even fight, but never forget that you two are part of each other."

And big sister Serendine, with little Ayla's hand in her own, took those words to heart.

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 **A/N:** This story isn't connected to my other Magi story, it's just something I wanted to write. Also, as a heads up, the format of this story will be short chapters (500-1,000 is my goal) told from the POV of other characters about the OC, Ayla, as opposed from Ayla herself. I wanted to try my hand at something new and I think this will be fun.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

 _*Ayla **-**_ Turkish name that means "moonlight" or "halo"


	2. In Recent News

**In Recent News**

"Yeah, they say she poisoned him, then fled by sea." Drakon's ears perk up at the sound of sailors gossiping. At the moment, their group was heading back to Balbadd from the Dark Continent and he was up on the deck with most of the others.

"How terrifying. How old is she, anyway? She's still just a kid, isn't she?" The assimilated man frowns at that. Hearing stories about children doing things that children _should never do_ was beginning to disturb him. His eyes slide over to the kids of the group and he wonders if the girl they're talking about is as small and young as they are.

"Now the youngest is the only royal left, but he's too young to take the throne." Drakon's breath catches in his throat as he begins to piece together the bits of information. He prays that he's wrong. "The country's going crazy and no one knows what's going to happen next."

Before he can make his way over to the sailors to interrogate them, princess Serendine has already pushed herself off the railing and is making her way towards them. Though her face is impassive, Drakon knows that, inside, she's ready for a fight. From behind him, he can hear Sinbad and the others shuffling closer.

"Excuse me," the pink-haired royal gets their attention. "But what are you two talking about? It sounds rather interesting." The nameless workers look at each other before shrugging and casually sharing all that they know.

"General Barbarossa of Parthevia suddenly collapsed some months ago and died not soon after. Almost immediately, the princess Ayla went into hiding. She was last seen a couple of weeks ago at the coast, taking a boat off the continent. Everyone assumes that she's the one who killed Barbarossa."

"Not only that, but the man's crimes are starting to come to light. Purges of villages and surrounding lands, human experimentation, brainwashing, et cetera. Apparently the ceasefire treaty with Reim was only for show. Without a clear head in power, nobody knows what to do and the country is beginning to destabilize."

The sailors then left to get back to their jobs, leaving the Parthevians in stunned silence. Drakon risks a glance at the royal and almost winces. Serendine, for all intents and purpose, looks as if the world beneath her feet had just crumbled away, eyes wavering in dismay and horror. The eldest child of the royal line had always been protective of her younger siblings, children who were too innocent and kind for violence.

But to hear of one of them commit such an act, especially one devoted to the art of medicine, and possibly going down the same road they have gone…Drakon can't even begin to imagine what Serendine must be feeling.

"I can take you to her, you know," the Magi, Judar, abruptly says, causing everyone to whish around and pin their focus on him. "You can fly with your Djinn Equip and I can locate her through the Rukh." The way the kid speaks, with a shit-eating, I-know-something-you-don't grin just rubs Drakon the wrong way.

The group watches as Serendine unsheathes her rapier and the symbol of the Djinn begins to shine. However, it just fades away after a few seconds and the young woman places the sword back in place with a troubled sigh. Drakon doesn't have to look around to know that everyone is confused by the action.

"No," she declines, her voice resolute, "I know my sister. Even though she's young, she's smart. Nothing she does is without purpose, so if she decided to leave Ceylan at the capital and escape by sea, then there's a reason for it. I think she knows that I'm in Balbadd and intends to meet me there."

"That's a pretty large leap in logic," Ja'far points out. "Because of the ceasefire treaty, Reim wouldn't be a safe place for her so it's easy to assume that going by ocean is the safest escape route." Serendine shook her head at this.

"If that's the case, then it wouldn't have taken her the time between that man's death and her last appearance to get to the coast. It didn't even take us two weeks through the mountains before we reached the border between Reim and Parthevia, which is a much longer distance. And considering that the man's crimes are just starting to be revealed, then I have no doubt Ayla's the reason why."

"Then why didn't she return to the capital if the other man has proven to be unjust?" Everyone turns around to see the Heliohaptan prince, Sharrkan, walking up to them. Under everyone's questioning gazes, he curls into himself, but continues, "I-I mean…wouldn't it be the perfect time for her, as a princess, to take back control of the country?"

"Maybe she intended to do so, but was unable to," Drakon theorizes. "The leader of the Sham Lash was one of Barbarossa's Four Heavenly Generals, so he's no doubt looking for her. And they're a very ruthless group," he speaks gravely, eyes darkening in remembrance of their own experiences.

"And you think she knows where you are?" Sinbad asks Serendine, who gives a single, firm nod.

"Yes. That man has surely known where we've been all this time – I wouldn't put it past him – and, if Ayla was close enough to poison him, then she must have learned about our whereabouts."

"Then why not go to her now?" the Magi flippantly asks, twirling his little wand around without a care in the world. "She might not even make it, after all."

"Call it sister's intuition, but I trust that Ayla will find me. And when she does, I want to have a warm bed and good food ready for her," at this, Serendine sends Sinbad a purposeful, who shows his understanding with a nod.

"If she left Parthevia a couple of weeks ago, then she'll make it to Balbadd in a month," says Sinbad. "Very well. We'll keep her existence on a need-to-know basis when she arrives."

Princess Ayla arrives much sooner than anticipated, led in through the back of the shop by Sinbad's hand. Utterly battered and exhausted, Drakon can see that the little royal is terrified beyond belief.

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 **A/N:** I didn't think I would upload another chapter so soon, but I find that I really like doing this kind of story format! I don't feel bogged down by the length and having a chapter dedicated to just a single scene or a shorter period of in-story time makes it a lot easier for me to type it out. Let me know if you guys enjoy this kind of story, or if you would prefer something more traditional. I'd like to know!


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